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From the beginning
Since 1996, the On the Tip of the Toes Foundation has been organising therapeutic adventure expeditions for teenagers living with cancer. Much more than outdoors activities, these trips offer a chance to spend time with other teenagers who share the same reality, who can understand without needing explanations. They also represent an opportunity to make friends by meeting challenges together, as young people often dream of doing at that stage of life. Through these challenges and by overcoming their limits, we hope to see them rebuild their self-confidence, and their hope for the future.
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How the Foundation was named
In 1996, an adventurer was just returning from the South Pole as we were organising our first expedition. He was then giving conferences and, during a question period, an eight-year-old boy asked him what you had to do to become an explorer. Bernard Voyer answered: “When I was your age, one day, I got on the tips of my toes and realised that I could see farther. That’s how I became an explorer.”
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Our story
The cofounders of the On the Tip of the Toes Foundation, Mario Bilodeau and François Guillot, respectively Professor of Outdoors Adventure and Tourism at Université du Québec à Chicoutimi and President and Chief Executive Officer of Québec Hors-Circuits Inc., teamed up with a Paediatrics Oncology Specialist in order to give sick children the tools they need to meet the challenges of life.
Mario Bilodeau no longer adds up the majestic mountains he climbed, such as Everest and others, but mostly, he no longer counts those who suffer from disease or deficiency, young people in the streets with alcohol and drug dependencies who discovered, through him, the pleasures inherent to nature, and who are now convinced of its therapeutic benefits; because Mario Bilodeau himself had surgery to remove a cancerous growth (Swanum type) while writing his doctoral thesis. He let nature bring him peace of mind by growing closer to the Earth and the origins of mankind. After remission, he wanted to share the road he had taken, to help others face similar challenges. That is when François Guillot, who had been asked by a doctor to organise an expedition for his patients, asked him to join the team and help him organise a first expedition project.
That first expedition met with success, a second was organised, and the media started to develop interest in the Foundation. In 1998, after the third expedition, François Guillot asked Annick Dufresne, now Managing Director of the Foundation, to further develop the potential of this wonderful idea, and to create a non-profit organisation. After six months of relentless work, the Managing Director finally received her first pay cheque, and the structure took shape. In February 2000, the Foundation received its charity number and was allowed to give out income tax receipts.
From that moment, financing became a little bit easier to achieve. This stage of evolution also coincided with the arrival of François Veillet, first external administrator. Managing Director of CIBC World Markets in Montreal, he used his network to create a more wide-ranging Board of Directors, more diversified, more solid. In his role as president of the Board of Directors, Mr. Veillet is actively involved in the management and financing of the Foundation.
During that time, many extraordinary expeditions took place and the teenagers stayed in contact with the Foundation. At fund-raising events, conferences, television programs or other occasions, they gave accounts of the benefits they received from the trips. Some parents also offered their support. Such acknowledgment is the mark of success, of long-term benefits for the youth. This led professors at UQAC to propose a research project to study, through the teenagers’ own accounts, what the key ingredients are for a successful expedition, one that has long-term effects on the lives of the teenagers.
Over seven years, the Foundation organised fifteen expeditions to such magical locations as:
- Ellesmere Island National Park, Nunavut, 700 kilometres from the North Pole.
- Gwaii Haanas National Park, British Columbia.
- Monts Valins in the Saguenay region, Anticosti Island, James Bay and Hudson Bay, all in Quebec.
- Albany river and the Polar Bear Provincial Park, Ontario.
Depending on the type of expedition, the youth discover nature through hiking, sea kayaking, dog-sledding, snowshoeing, canoeing and snowmobile. They are supervised by a team of experienced guides and a specialised medical team.
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More still… about the expeditions
To ensure the safety of the young participants, the Foundation is bound to a series of important guidelines for each and every expedition.
A medical team is on hand for all expeditions. They bring support and security to the youth during the trip. They are a specialised group of men and women, including:
- A doctor (oncologist or emergency specialist)
- A nursing specialist
- A special education teacher
Before departure, the Foundation organises a meeting with parents, guides, and the medical team, to study every detail of the expedition. This makes it much easier to answer parents’ questions and anxieties.
During the entire expedition, the youth are covered by travel insurance.
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Sub-contracting
The On the Tip of the Toes Foundation was able to develop unequalled expertise in the organisation of therapeutic adventure expeditions. To support this unique experience in Canada, the Foundation always collaborates with sub-contractors specialised in logistics and supervision of trips. The group of adults thus assembled to supervise the teenagers always respects Canadian standards regarding this type of expedition. Most of the time, the Foundation even goes beyond the required number of guides.
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Financing
One hundred percent of expedition costs are covered by the On the Tip of the Toes Foundation, thanks to private financing and generous donations. If you wish, you may also bring your support to teenagers living with cancer by accessing the Donations and Sponsorship link.
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The role of the medical committee… choosing the teenagers
Before each expedition, a medical committee reviews the conditions of the trip, evaluates security measures, and establishes the criteria for the selection of participants according to the difficulty level of the challenges to be met during the expedition. The committee then sends its recommendations to the person responsible in each of the oncology centres across the country, who then starts the selection process. At this point, the doctor in charge for each of the candidates fills out a medical questionnaire and contacts the doctor or nurse affiliated with the Foundation to discuss the particular conditions needed for the youth to best benefit from therapeutic adventure.
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The emergency plan
The Foundation sets up an emergency plan for each expedition, which includes all contact information for each hospital in the vicinity of the activities. The time required for the potential evacuation of an injured person is precisely evaluated and the trip is planned in such a manner that it is always possible to react quickly and properly to any emergency. Besides a qualified medical unit on the team, first-aid equipment is on hand (as designed by the medical staff and medical committee) and includes medication for any type of sickness or injury. Finally, a mobile satellite phone is the primary means of communication. The Foundation is a member of Air Médic (air ambulance); if it becomes necessary to evacuate someone, fast and efficient transportation is at hand.
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Each expedition includes:
Participants
From 8 to 12 youth between the ages of 13 and 20
From various paediatrics oncology centres across Canada, including:
Sainte-Justine Hospital (Quebec)
Montreal Children’s Hospital (Quebec)
Centre universitaire de santé de l’Estrie (Quebec)
IWK Health Center (Maritimes)
Centre hospitalier de l’Université Laval (CHUL) (Quebec)
Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) (Ontario)
The Hospital for Sick Children Toronto (Ontario)
Guides
- 2 or 3 guides from the Foundation, depending on needs and type of expedition.
- 2 or 3 guides from the outdoors adventure tourism organisation associated with our Foundation for a particular expedition.
A medical team
- An emergency specialist or oncologist*
- A nurse
- A special education teacher or social worker
*Could also be a family doctor, surgeon or other.
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